Olympian Drive Project Construction to Begin July 21, 2014

The Olympian Drive Construction Project has been awarded by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) to Feutz Construction Contractors, Inc. from Paris, Illinois. The project award amount is $7,092,062.46. This project is being funded by IDOT Illinois Jobs Now (state public works bonds), Federal Highway Administration’s Surface Transportation Program (federal highways trust fund) and Illinois Commerce Commission Grade Crossing Protection Fund (derived from state MFT funds). This project is jointly sponsored through an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Champaign, Champaign County, and the City of Urbana. There are no local county or city funds expended on this project.

The improvements include the 1.2 mile extension of the existing Olympian Drive consisting of a two-lane roadway with concrete pavement and asphalt shoulders. The improvement, beginning at Apollo Drive, will tie into existing North Lincoln Avenue on the east side and the concrete pavement will continue into this intersection. North Lincoln Avenue will be reconstructed near the intersection with Hot-Mix Asphalt pavement. Other work for this project includes a proposed bridge over the Illinois Central (IC) Railroad, a regional detention pond, borrow pit, pavement marking, culvert placement, signing, and landscaping. Four lanes of embankment will be built from Apollo Drive to the IC Railroad and two lanes of embankment will be built from the IC Railroad to North Lincoln Avenue.

Construction is expected to begin July 21, 2014 and will take up to two years to complete. Construction of drainage ditches, field tile connections, pipe culverts earth embankment, and the bridge substructure work will take place first.

During the construction of the embankment between the railroad and North Lincoln Avenue, which will begin October 2014, North Lincoln Avenue will be closed to allow construction traffic to carry dirt from the borrow area to the embankment area. This closure will likely last through the Summer of 2015 until the new pavement and intersection of Olympian Drive and North Lincoln Avenue is completed. Message boards will be placed in the project area to announce the closure to the traveling public and detour signage will remain in place during the closure period. Willow Road between Ford Harris Road and Oaks Road will be the suggested detour route.

A project groundbreaking is tentatively scheduled for mid-August, more details will follow.

Monthly project updates will be available on the City of Urbana website at “urbanaillinois.us/“.

The project contact for the City of Urbana is Mr. Bill Gray. He can be reached at 217-384-2377 or by email at: wrgray@urbanaillinois.us.

The project contact for the City of Champaign is Mr. Dave Clark. He can be reached at 217-403-4700 or by email at dave.clark@ci.champaign.il.us.